Julian Barnes: Contemporary Critical Perspectives

What is mystical is not how the world is but that it is' (Ludwig Wittgenstein)The Spanish Carmelite reformer, Teresa of Avila and the Austrian professor of logic, Ludwig Wittgenstein do not at first sight seem to be the most obvious of bed fellows. Yet, in this strikingly original work, Dr Peter Tyler argues that both were galvinised through their reading to 'see the world aright' by a radical form of writing known as 'mystical'. As young adults both were in turmoil, loneliness and despair, yet found in this style of writing personal transformation, commitment and, most of all, engagement with the world. This new 'path to the heart', argues the author, is what makes their writing so powerful and transformational to this day.